A huge explosion has been reported at a warehouse at the Runxing chemical plant in China’s eastern province of Shandong, local media reports.
Large flames could be seen from the site after the blast in the city of Zibo. Nine people are reported injured.
Earlier this month blasts involving chemicals in the northern city of Tianjin killed at least 116 people.
The proximity of industrial and chemical plants to residential areas has become hugely controversial.
Saturday’s blast took place near the city of Zibo, the South China Morning Post reported, quoting a villager who said that he saw a huge fireball and then heard two explosions.
The newspaper said that the fire had been brought under control by late on Saturday night.
It is not yet clear if homes in the area have been damaged.
The explosion triggered a fire and a dozen fire engines were at the scene, Xinhua news agency reports.
The blasts at Shandong and Tianjin have taken on a political significance and threaten to overshadow China’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War Two.
The Beijing Times reported that the Runxing plant contained adiponitrile – a chemical which is reported to be used for the production of nylon and can be harmful to skin.
Windows shattered at the scene of the blast, state media reported, and its vibration could be felt 1.5 miles from the site.
The operators of the Tianjin site are being investigated for allowing dangerous chemicals to be stored too close to homes.
The blasts there also raised fears of contamination by toxic substances.
They also sparked a nationwide directive cracking down on the storage of chemicals.
Officially the minimum distance between businesses with dangerous chemicals and public buildings and transport networks is meant to be 1 mile.
Data from the Tianjin incident showed there were at least three major residential communities inside that distance from the warehouse.
China has ordered the evacuation of residents within a 2 miles radius of the Tianjin blast site over fears of chemical contamination.
The evacuations came as police confirmed the highly toxic chemical sodium cyanide was found near the site.
A man was found alive 200ft from the blast core, Xinhua news agency said.
Eighty-five people are now known to have died and hundreds were hurt in the giant blasts in the north-eastern Chinese port on August 12.
People sheltering at a school used as a safe haven since the disaster have been asked to leave wearing masks and long trousers, reports say.
Anti-chemical warfare troops have entered the site.
The People’s Daily newspaper tweeted that they had been sent to handle highly toxic sodium cyanide which had been found there.
The discovery was confirmed by police “roughly east of the blast site” in an industrial zone, state-run Beijing News said.
Photo Xinhua
Officials had until then only confirmed the presence of calcium carbide, potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate. Calcium carbide reacts with water to create the highly explosive acetylene.
Officials have so far insisted that air and water quality levels are safe.
Some fires have continued to smolder and at least one reignited on Saturday. Xinhua said several cars at the site had “exploded again”.
Of the 721 people injured, 25 are in critical condition and 33 are serious.
At least 21 firefighters are among the dead and an unknown number remain missing.
Dozens of relatives of the missing tried to disrupt a news conference given by officials on August 15, demanding to know the fate of their loved ones.
The operators of the Tianjin site have been accused of violating safety rules.
China’s government has ordered officials to make nationwide checks on dangerous chemicals and explosives and to “crack down unwaveringly on illegal activities to ensure safety”.
Tianjin explosions’ death toll has risen to 44 as more than 500 people were injured.
Twelve firefighters were among the dead, China’s official Xinhua news agency said as it reported a doubling of the death toll following two major explosions in the northern port city.
The blasts happened in a warehouse storing “dangerous and chemical goods” in the port area of Tianjin.
The explosions caused a huge fireball that could be seen from space.
Buildings within a 1.5 miles had windows blown out, office blocks were destroyed and hundreds of cars burnt-out.
Images on Chinese media showed local residents and workers fleeing their homes, some of them covered in blood from broken glass and flying debris.
As of 12:00 local time, 44 people had died and a total of 520 people had been hospitalized, including 66 in a critical condition, Xinhua reported.
The first explosion occurred at about 23:30 local time on August 12, followed seconds later by another, more powerful blast and a series of smaller explosions. The impact could be felt several miles away.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of detonating three tonnes of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tonnes.
State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said a shipment of explosives had detonated but this has not been confirmed.
Senior managers of Ruihai Logistics, which owns the warehouse where the explosion happened, are being questioned by authorities, state media report.
China National Radio also said cracks were visible in buildings near the site of the blast.
Several tower blocks near the port area are without power, CCTV added.
Tianjin, home to some 15 million people, is a major port and industrial area to the south-east of the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Huge explosions have hit the city of Tianjin in northern China, reportedly injuring at least 300 people and causing at least seven deaths.
The blasts occurred when a shipment of explosives blew up in the port city at about 23:30 local time, the Chinese state media reports.
Pictures and video shared on social media showed flames lighting up the sky and damage to nearby buildings.
Shockwaves could apparently be felt several miles away from Tianjin.
The first explosion was followed by another 30 seconds later.
An official Chinese seismic agency said the force of the first explosion was equivalent to three tons of TNT, the second was 21 tons.
Further blasts were subsequently triggered nearby, Xinhua state news agency said.
China National Radio said cracks were visible in buildings near the site of the blast.
Several tower blocks near the port area are without power, reported the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The blasts took place in a warehouse area storing dangerous goods in Tianjin’s Binhai development zone, Xinhua said.
Tianjin, home to some 15 million people, is a major port and industrial area to the south-east of the Chinese capital, Beijing.
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